Enhancing spatial skills of disadvantaged children using everyday activities

Abstract

Background: Spatial skills are foundational for cognitive development, yet children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds often have limited access to construction toys that promote such skills. This study examined whether affordable, gender-neutral construction activities using readily available everyday materials can support first graders’ development of mental rotation, mental folding, and perspective taking. Method: A total of 132 economically disadvantaged first-grade children (67 intervention, 65 control; M = 6 years 10 months, SD = 5 months) participated in a five-day, school-based intervention. Activities targeted intrinsic-dynamic (mental rotation, mental folding) and extrinsic-dynamic (perspective taking) skills using low-cost materials (e.g., paper cups, straws). Spatial abilities were assessed at pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. A 3 (time) × 2 (group) × 2 (sex) repeated-measures ANOVA examined intervention and gender effects. Results: Children in the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement in mental rotation than controls (F(1.8, 203.32) = 7.59, p < .001, ηp² = .06), and this effect was maintained at delayed posttest. No significant group differences emerged for mental folding or perspective taking. Gender analyses revealed no main effects of sex and no sex-related interactions for any spatial skill (all p's > .17), indicating that boys and girls benefited similarly. Conclusion: Brief, low-cost spatial activities can selectively enhance mental rotation in disadvantaged first graders, providing evidence for the malleability of spatial cognition in early schooling. These findings highlight the potential of affordable, gender-inclusive materials to reduce inequities in access to spatial learning opportunities. Future work should refine approaches to better support mental folding and perspective taking. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.